Lloyd Michael Daniels, (born 14 December 1992), was the youngest act in the X Factor of 2009. He is from Treharris, in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. In his first audition, Cheryl Cole described him as "the first person I'm going to say you've got the X Factor to." He was placed in the bottom two after the rock-themed week, but the public vote saved him at the expense of Rachel Adedeji. He was in the bottom two again in week 6 but was saved when the vote went to deadlock and Jamie Archer was sent home. On 29 November, Daniels was eliminated from the competition, finishing in fifth place. On 7 December 2009, he performed a homecoming concert outside the St David's Centre in Cardiff, and toured with the X Factor live tour .[6] Since then, Lloyd has regularly sung a gigs across the country and performed in many pantomimes and a touring naked comedy alongside big brother star nikki graham called 'Up4aMeet'. Daniels has been a part of many shoots, including Gay Times magazine, and Coitus.[7] His EP 'Suburbian Girl' was released in December 2011 making it into the top 40 iTunes chart. In November 2014 Daniels performed the leading role of Joseph in the UK tour of Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dream coat, his first stage musical role.

Rikki Loney (born 30 September 1987)[citation needed] is from Glasgow. He auditioned in 2008 but was rejected on day two of bootcamp, narrowly missing out on a spot at the Judges' Homes round. He re-auditioned in 2009 without telling his parents.[5] Loney was in the bottom two in the second week along with Rachel Adedeji (17/18 October 2009) after he sang "Respect". The judges voted to eliminate him after his rendition of "Flying Without Wings", with only his mentor voting to save him. Walsh was absent but confirmed on the Xtra Factor that he would have eliminated him.

Joseph "Joe" McElderry (born 16 June 1991)[citation needed] is from South Shields, Tyne & Wear and is a student at Newcastle College. He started singing when he was 14.[9] He took the role of Danny in Grease, performed at Harton Technology College.[10] He auditioned for The X Factor in 2007, but felt too young compared to the other contestants and opted to walk away.[11] He was the Pride of South Tyneside's Young Performer of the Year in 2008.[11]

After his rendition of "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", on the seventh live show, he received a standing ovation from all four judges (the first this series), with Cowell calling it "the performance of his life".[13]

He received another standing ovation after he sang "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" on the eighth live show, with Dannii Minogue and Louis Walsh admitting they had to see him in the final.[14] By 29 November, he was the only remaining competitor in Cheryl's category. After singing three separate songs in the final, "Don't Let The Sun Go Down on Me" as a duet with George Michael, "Don't Stop Believin'", and "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word", McElderry made it into the final two, with Olly Murs and himself beating Stacey Solomon to the final two. He was then voted the winner.

Rachel Adedeji (born 22 August 1991) previously auditioned for the show's fifth series in 2008, reaching the bootcamp final 50 stage, narrowly missing out on a spot at judges' houses. She is friends with the winner from that year, Alexandra Burke.[15] She is studying musical theatre and has performed at many musical productions and had a role in the musical Mamma Mia!.[16] For the first live show, Rachel sang "Let Me Entertain You", but was in the bottom two alongside girl group with Kandy Rain received the fewest votes. For the second show Adedeji sang "If I Were a Boy", and was in the bottom two again, against Rikki Loney, surviving once again after singing "With or Without You". In week 3, Rachel sang "Proud Mary", progressing onto the next week and also receiving the highest number of votes.[17] In week four she sang "One", but once again ended up in the bottom two, against Lloyd Daniels. She sang "Stop Crying Your Heart Out", but Simon Cowell didn't think Rachel had a connection with the audience, as she'd been in the bottom two three times. The result was taken to deadlock, with Rachel receiving the lowest number of votes and finishing 9th overall.

Adedeji had a single due out in April 2011, named "Follow the DJ". The music video for the single premiered on 18 December 2010, but the single was never released.[18] Adedeji released a new single, titled "Club Lights", on 20 February 2012. The song was written by Starley Hope, Christos Papathanasiou and Maria Marcus. The video premiered on 20 January and was directed by Drew Cox. The song was released as part of a four-track EP, which also includes songs titled "On My Own", "Young Hearts" and her previous single "Follow the DJ". Adedeji was then signed by the EDM labels Hailstorm and Fat Banker, and two tracks were released between June and August 2013 called "House Dance" (Nolan feat. Rachel Adedeji) with remixes by ATFC, Climbers and DJ T., and "Every Time I Hear Your Name" (written by Phil Ramacon (Buffalo Stance, Playa Boi)). Since April 2016, Adedeji has been playing Lisa Loveday in the Channel 4soap opera, Hollyoaks.

Lucie Bethan Jones (born 20 March 1991) is a student from Pentyrch, a village on the outskirts of Cardiff, Wales. She has had vocal training from Louise Ryan, who trained Charlotte Church. In 2007, as a Scout, she went to the World Scout Jamboree, where she was a main singer singing the song 'Jambo,' which was the theme tune of the Jamboree in Hylands Park, Essex. She auditioned with "I Will Always Love You". In the first week of live shows she sang "Footprints in the Sand". In Week Two she sang "How Will I Know". In week three she sang "My Funny Valentine". In week four she sang "Sweet Child o' Mine". In week five she sang "This Is Me" and "One Moment in Time". She became the fifth act to be sent home from The X Factor after losing out to John & Edward in the final showdown. She was eliminated via deadlock in a controversial vote-off, where 1,113 viewers complained to UK TV Watchdog Ofcom about the show being fixed in favour of John & Edward. Ofcom refused to investigate, however.

Jones has since gone on to be signed by Select Model Management, and in late January 2010 released her first modelling shots. She is also one of the many celebrities who have teamed up with Cancer Research UK to re-release "Girls Just Want to Have Fun". In May 2010, Jones was signed by Cameron Mackintosh to play Cosette in the West End production of Les Misérables, a role she missed out on the previous year owing to commitments to X Factor.[19] In September 2010 she was revealed to be the face of Wonderbra's new Full Effects campaign.[20] In 2010, she appeared in The Sarah Jane Adventures episode, Lost in Time: Part Two".

Jones was one of eight celebrities chosen to participate in an intense week learning Welsh in an eco-friendly chic campsite in Pembrokeshire in the series cariad@iaith:love4language shown on S4C in May 2012.[citation needed] She turned to TV presenting, fronting the Beach Break Live and Wakestock music festivals for MTV in July 2012.[citation needed] In 2013, Jones released a line of lingerie, 'Loved By Lucie', designed by Hannah Dulcie.[citation needed] She was also cast as 'Meat' in the We Will Rock You World Tour.[citation needed] Jones also played the role of Victoria[25] in the new musical American Psycho at London's Almeida Theatre in December 2013.[26]

Since 2010, Jones has been working with Sony ATV to record songs for her debut album. It was due to be released in Summer 2012, but it never occurred and no exact released date has yet to have been given.

In February 2015 Jones appeared as Melody Carver in ITV's Midsomer Murders, in the episode "The Ballad of Midsomer County". In April 2015, Jones played the role of 'Emma' in the showcase performance of Like Me (musical) at The Waterloo East Theatre.[27] In March 2015, she was cast as Molly in an upcoming Chinese tour of Ghost the Musical, due to start in May 2015. In 2016 Lucie was cast as Maureen Johnson in the UK tour of Rent.

In December 2011 Stacey signed a record deal with Conehead Records, and began working on her debut album, which is due for release in 2012. Her debut single was originally scheduled for release in February 2012, but was delayed to a later date. The new release date has not yet been confirmed. Solomon is also the host of new TV series "The Love Machine", alongside co-host, Radio 1 presenter Chris Moyles. The series premiered on 11 March 2012.

Jamie Archer singing on 20 March 2010 at The O2 Arena on the X Factor tour

James "Jamie" Archer (also nicknamed "Jamie Afro" due to his hairstyle) (born 26 July 1975)[33] is a musician from Putney, London, England. He was the oldest of the 12 finalists in this series. He has had considerable experience on the London gig circuit, and plays a number of instruments, mainly the guitar.[33] He sang "Sex on Fire" in his first audition. In week 3 of the live shows, he had chosen to sing "If I Can Dream", but his mentor Cowell strongly disagreed and suggested "Angel of Harlem". Eventually Archer gave in although he only had 24 hours to rehearse the new song.[34] Walsh accused Cowell of bending the rules, as the theme that week was big band. Walsh said: "I'm a bit confused because the theme is big band and you came out and sang a U2 song. I feel it's cheating. I wouldn't get away with it and neither would the girls – I don't know why Simon does."[35] During the judges' comments after his performance on the fourth live show, Walsh called him "a Lenny Kravitz impersonator".[36] He was voted out in week 6, having been in the bottom two with Lloyd Daniels, as the result went to deadlock.

On 13 August 2011 Archer sang at the Npower Football League Championship match between Leicester City and Reading.

Danyl Aaron Johnson (born 17 June 1982)[39] is from Arborfield, near Reading, Berkshire, England. He works as a dance and drama teacher, having taught at three stage schools, including the Southcote-based renowned stage school Starmaker and School of the Arts (SOTA) in Windsor.[40] He also revealed that he survived testicular cancer as a boy. He opened up about his experience while answering questions from fans at a secret X Factor gig held at The O2 Arena in London on 5 December. He said his brush with cancer had left him feeling passionate about encouraging men to get themselves checked out.[41]

Johnson was previously a member of two boy bands, Upfrunt, a duo with bandmate Steven Blackie, and StreetLevel, with band members Adam Harris, Dean Brindley and Steven Blackie.[42][43] StreetLevel disbanded when Johnson left in 2006 to audition for The X Factor's third series, but he failed to make it past the early stages and did not get to audition for the judges.[44] Johnson is also member of the band Empty Spaces, but he was forced to put the project on hold because his bandmate Nick Burrage did not want to be involved in The X Factor.[43]

At the auditions in 2009, Simon Cowell described his performance of "With a Little Help From My Friends" as "the best first audition I have ever heard."[2] Johnson came out as bisexual in August 2009 in the national press, fearing kiss-and-tell stories.[45][46] Following his performance of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" in the first live show, Minogue said, "If we're to believe what we read in the papers, there was no need to change the gender reference" (referring to the song's lyrics), causing outrage amongst viewers.[45] Minogue later apologised for any offence caused.

In week 2, Johnson sang a yet unreleased and largely unknown composition, "I Didn't Know My Own Strength", from Whitney Houston's "I Look to You" album, for which Cowell stated on air during an interview that he got special permission from Houston. However, Johnson revealed later that he had infuriated Houston by choosing to sing her unreleased album track. He admitted: "Whitney absolutely hated me and she was the worst guest."[47] In week 3, Johnson sang "Feeling Good", receiving glowing comments from the show's judges, including one from Walsh that he was "unstoppable". However, after the public vote, he found himself in the bottom two with Miss Frank. After the judging vote went to deadlock, he was saved by the public vote. In week 4, Johnson sang "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing", however many of the judges felt he had lost his "mojo" having been in the bottom two the previous week. In week 5, Johnson came on stage with a new look while singing "Purple Rain". He received praise from the judges who approved of his new demeanour. In the following 4 weeks Danyl remained on the show, his performances received multiple praise and criticism from the judge panel until his departure in week 9.

Johnson left The X Factor in the semi-finals on 6 December 2009, receiving the fewest votes of the remaining finalists and thus finishing fourth. His mentor said: "I said to him before we went on stage, there is nothing I would have changed, nothing more he could have done."[48] The official Danyl Johnson website also featured an original song from his Enchanced CD, an original composition entitled Beautiful Life.

Johnson has stressed that he wishes to record a "really good album".[citation needed] On 31 August 2010 he revealed he is going to go to New York at some point to record an album, which he plans to release fall 2011, having worked with artists such as Marc Broussard. On 8 April 2011 he appeared on an episode of Benidorm performing in a bar.[citation needed]

Oliver "Olly" Stanley Murs[49] (born 14 May 1984)[50] is from Witham, Essex, England. He was born to Vicky-Lynn and Peter Murs, who is of Latvian descent. Murs has two siblings, sister Fay and twin brother Ben. He attended Notley High School[51] where he was a star striker in the school's football team. He also played semi-professionally for Witham Town.[52] He is a supporter of Manchester United.[53] He works as an energy advisor in a call centre. He previously appeared on the TV show Deal or No Deal, where in his game he won £10 after inadvertently swapping his box which contained £1,000.[2]

He performed "Superstition" in his first audition and Simon Cowell said it was "the easiest yes I have ever given". On the first live show he sang "She's the One" and on the second, "A Fool in Love", a performance which Cowell described as being "in a different league." For week three he took on "Bewitched". Walsh commented that he was the "dark horse of the competition," and Cole said he was "coming into his own each week." He frequently employed dance moves in his performance including his trademark "Olly wiggle."[54] In week 4 he sang "Come Together" and again received positive comments, with Walsh predicting, "I think you're in the final three," and Cowell saying he was "progressing better than just about everybody."[55] In week 5 he performed "Twist and Shout" and in week 6 "Don't Stop Me Now", after which he was labelled by Minogue as, "absolutely the best performer we have on the show by far."[56]

After a performance of "Fastlove", he was in the bottom two in week 7, with John & Edward. Cowell and Cole decided to send John & Edward home, but Walsh voted against Murs. Minogue then voted against sending the judges' vote to deadlock and sent home John & Edward. However, voting statistics revealed that John & Edward had received more votes than Murs, meaning if Minogue sent the result to deadlock, John & Edward would've been sent through to the quarter-final and Murs would have been eliminated. In the semi-finals Murs had to miss the wedding of his brother. The ceremony took place just 16 miles from the show's studio, but Cowell, his mentor, was against letting him off for a few hours on this crucial semi-final day.[57] He sang "Can You Feel It" and "We Can Work It Out" in the semi-final and ended up as one of the three finalists, breaking down in tears upon hearing the result.[58]

In the final on 12 December, he repeated his audition song, "Superstition", following which Cowell said putting him in the final 12 was "the best risk I have ever taken in my life". Murs then sang with Robbie Williams on a duet of "Angels". Williams fluffed his lines as he walked on stage to join Murs and came in at the wrong time, singing the second line of the song, but was helped by Murs to find the right spot.[59] There was then a repeat performance of his week 2 song "Fool in Love". Murs qualified for the final two and first sang a repeat performance of "Twist and Shout", following which Louis Walsh commented, "You're a born, born showman and no matter what happens tonight you're going to have a great career in music." In his final performance on the show he performed the winner's song, "The Climb", finishing it in tears.[60] He was told by Cole, "You absolutely tore it from your soul. I've never heard you sing like that. I thought it was a beautiful version of the song."[61] He lost the final to Joe McElderry the next day and finished as the runner-up.[62]

On 15 December, two days after the final, it was reported that Simon was going to offer Murs a record deal in early 2010.[63] Following his defeat, Murs was reportedly texted by duet partner Robbie Williams and invited to visit him in his Los Angeles mansion and participate in the upcoming Soccer Aid, organised by Williams.[53] Olly performed in the X Factor tour, alongside Joe McElderry, John & Edward, Stacey Solomon, Lucie Jones and several other finalists. It was later revealed on The Xtra Factor that Murs was predicted by all the judges and presenters (except Minogue who said Nicole Jackson and Cole who said Miss Frank as a second choice) as the favourite to win the series at the Boot Camp stage.[64][65]

As with all other finalists save the winner, Murs began gigging around the country following the end of the show.[66] A fight broke out at one New Year's Eve gig in London prompted by enthusiastic fans.[67] He was also booked to appear at the engagement party of model Danielle Lloyd.[68] Footage of Murs appearing on Deal or No Deal was later featured in an edition of the BBC's Almost Famous on 2 January 2010.[69]

Murs was signed to a joint deal between Epic Records and Syco Music in February 2010.[70] His debut album, Olly Murs was released on 29 November 2010 with the single, "Please Don't Let Me Go", out on 29 August 2010[71] which debuted at No1.

Jedward performing on 20 March 2010 at The O2 Arena on the X Factor tour

John & Edward, now known as Jedward, are identical twin brothers John and Edward Grimes (born 16 October 1991),[72] from Dublin, Republic of Ireland. They both attended the Dublin Institute of Education[73] and are known for their distinctive blonde quiffs. The twins started singing at the age of five.[74] There was controversy surrounding the two of them when they sang over the other people in their section during the bootcamp auditions. Cowell said that they had put the people in their group at a disadvantage, but the other contestants were eliminated after Louis Walsh championed the twins.

On the first live show, John & Edward performed Robbie Williams' hit "Rock DJ". Cowell said afterwards, "It was a musical nightmare." and that "The truth is... is that Louis has put you through because you're Irish."[75] In week 3, after singing Ricky Martin's "She Bangs", the studio audience heckled the twins, but Walsh confronted the audience by saying: "Boo all you bloody want. I don't like bullying."[76] John & Edward were in the bottom two with Lucie Jones in week 5, but were saved after the judges' vote went to deadlock. In week 6, John & Edward sang a mashup of "Under Pressure" and "Ice Ice Baby". During the song, Scottish DJ Calvin Harris invaded the stage with a pineapple on his head to poke fun at their quiffs and was thrown out of the studio. Harris later apologised for his behaviour, posting on his Twitter page: "At the end of the day, I had a pineapple on my head. Sorry if I caused anyone embarrassment. P.S. I love Jedward." The twins were praised by Walsh, who said that it was their best performance of the competition. He also praised them for ignoring Harris's stage invasion. John & Edward's performance also won over harshest critic Cowell, who said: "I can't judge you in the real world any more. I have to judge you in Jedwardland, wherever that planet exists; and so if I kind of take myself there, I would say that was your best performance. And I have to say this: There's no point in me getting angry or serious about this, if people like you, they like you. I have to tell this as well guys. You've conducted yourself very well in this competition. You just get on with it".[77] John & Edward were eliminated from the competition in week 7 by the judges after being in the bottom two with Olly Murs. However voting statistics showed that John & Edward had received more votes than Murs, meaning if Minogue sent the result to deadlock, John & Edward would've been sent through to the quarter-final and Murs would've been eliminated.[78]

Kandy Rain are a four piece girl group comprising Azi Jegbefume (born 19 April 1984), Vicky "Coco" Lloyd (born 11 February 1987), Khatereh Dovani (Born 24 April 1984) and Chemmane Applewhaite (Born 26 January 1984).[82] Prior to joining the band, Azi was a member of Trinity Stone, a girl group which included future SugababeJade Ewen.[83] They were criticised by judges Cole and Minogue for dressing provocatively during the live shows, despite claiming that they intended to move away from their past as strippers, although Cole later apologised.[84][85] Kandy Rain were eliminated in Week 1 of the competition after the results went to deadlock and the girls received the fewest votes. They lost to Rachel Adedeji.

Kandy Rain have recorded their debut single, titled "Radio", which was due for release in the Summer, 2010. The music video for the song premiered on 14 February 2010, but the single was never released. However, they are said to have recorded a new single, titled "Your Love Is Like a Sugar Rush", which was due for release in 2012, but later cancelled. It was later reported that Azi had left the group, and has recorded a new solo single titled "DJ on Stage", which was to be released on 21 April 2012.

Miss Frank are a three-piece girl group consisting of rapper Graziella Affinita (born 13 February 1984) and singers Shar Alexandra (born 14 April 1984), and Shaniece Davis (born 28 November 1987).[88] They formed at bootcamp when the judges offered them the chance to enter the competition as a group after being rejected as solo artists.[4] The first song Miss Frank performed together was "That's Life", which they later sang again in week 3. The group were put in the bottom two alongside Danyl Johnson. The judging vote deadlocked and it was revealed Miss Frank had the lower public vote and they were eliminated. After hearing the decision, Miss Frank promised to stay together, with their mentor Walsh encouraging them to do so, saying: "I hope they stay together as a group. They've got a lot more to give and they're great girls. I love them."[89] On GMTV, the girls announced that they were working in the Sony BMG studio with different people including artist Remi Nicole, trying to 'find their sound'. The trio have been spending a lot of time penning their own songs in the studio and recently uploaded one of their original tracks, a midtempo number entitled 'Caught Up' on YouTube.

On 27 July 2010, it was revealed that Shaniece had left the band, replaced by one of the 2008 bootcamp contestants Cherelle. Due to this sudden activity, the three tried to come up with a new band name, asking visitors to the HeatWorld website to help them.[90] However, Cherelle has since left the band, leaving original members Graziella and Shar to form new duo "Scarlet Lowe".[91]